by Brian Volck | Jan 4, 2021 | Christmas
There is all this untouched beautyThe light the dark both running through meIs there still redemption for anyone? -Karin Bergquist In an earlier post in this series, I hinted at two versions of freedom. Standard contemporary understandings of freedom center on the...
by Brian Volck | Jan 1, 2021 | Christmas
Intending to look for beauty and hope in a dark season is admirable, but how does one sustain the practice? Short cuts and how-to recipes don’t last. Sheer willpower eventually becomes grim determination. Imagination, honest work, and genuine delight are needed to...
by Brian Volck | Apr 13, 2020 | limits, Wendell Berry
I have two thematically-related, Wendell Berry-inflected essays on living through the COVID-19 pandemic that were posted today. Fill out your reading list here or ponder what limits mean for health in community here. Image of Wendell Berry from Center for Interfaith...
by Brian Volck | Jan 5, 2018 | words
Write and read with your whole heart. Embrace mystery. Shun mystification, which is to mystery what sentimentality is to honest feeling. Treasure words that prove difficult to pin down but impossible to live without. Go out on limbs. Be willing to fall. Get up again....
